A Thousand Words - a McRoll in the REAL World story
by Mari217
Summary: The family enjoys looking at photos together.


_Sammy and Ilna, love you both for everything._

_REAL McRollers and Readers THANK YOU for the beautiful comments!_

_The perfect title is, of course, thanks to Sammy_

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**A Thousand Words**

DJ sat on the sofa between his parents as they looked at family photos. They'd hung several new ones on the photo wall earlier and the little boy had noted they had 'lots of pictures'.

When Steve replied they had albums full and DJ asked if he could see some, Catherine got several out and they'd settled down to look. Angie had gotten bored halfway through the first album and was happily turning the pages of a board book as she sat on the rug and 'read' to Cammie.

"This one," Catherine said as she lifted a second book and placed it across DJ's lap. "Should be fun."

The first image was a polaroid that featured a beaming brunette in a formal, one shouldered black dress with a puffy sleeve and a large white bow at the hip.

DJ glanced at Catherine. "You're all dressy, Mommy, and your hair is different." He turned to look at her and touched the ends of her hair. "Were you at a party?"

"Guess what? That's not Mommy." Steve said with a wink at his wife as their son's eyes widened and he asked, "It's not?"

"Nope. Want a clue so you can guess who it is?"

DJ nodded. "Yeah."

Steve tapped the image of a young naval officer with his arm around the girl's shoulder on the opposite page with a grin. "Do you recognize him?"

The little boy covered his mouth and laughed. "Hey, it's grandpa, a way long time ago" He looked between the photo and his mother. "So that's ... _grandma_?"

"Yep. That..." Catherine bent to kiss his head. "Is your grandma."

"Wh'we Gwamma an' Gwanpa?" Angie dropped her book and hoisted herself onto Steve's lap to look out the window.

"They aren't here now, they're in the picture, Angie." DJ pointed and when his sister turned and sat on Steve's lap, he shook his head. "Wow, Mommy, grandma looks 'xactly like you."

"Thank you, sweetheart. That picture is from before I was born, and you're right; they were at a fancy party at the base."

When DJ turned the page, his sister pointed to the image of a little girl smiling from her mother's arms and announced, "Angie!"

"Nope, baby girl, that's Mommy." Catherine told her, and Angie's brow furrowed in a very Steve-like expression.

"No." She shook her head. "_Dat_ Mommy." She pointed to a young Elizabeth.

"Believe it or not, _that's_ grandma," Catherine said, then indicated herself in the photo and tapped her own chest. "The little girl is me. That's Mommy."

Steve laughed when their daughter shook her head. "Dat Angie."

"Mommy just looks like you," he explained and kissed the little cheek. Reaching for a photo of the kids with Cammie on the end table, he said, "There's Angie."

"Yay! An' dere DJ!" She touched each face. When she said, "Dat Cammie," the dog's tail thumped and she raised her head from her spot just a few feet away.

As the family continued through the album, DJ noted how his grandpa's hair was 'all one color' as opposed to Joseph's familiar salt-and-pepper, and how Grandma Ang at a baseball game with a tiny Catherine wore a similar Cubs shirt to one she currently owned.

When they reached a third album and Catherine placed it on DJ's lap, she kissed his cheek and said, "This one's my favorite. Can you guess why?"

Opening to a photo of Angie and Grandma Ang sharing a nap made the six year old smile. The opposite page held a photo of him and Angie on the day after Thanksgiving as he helped her play with her Fisher Price kitchen where she'd 'cooked' for everyone like they had the day before.

Next came images of DJ and Catherine reading on the sofa, and all four of them in a selfie with Cammie on the beach. The photos that followed featured the family in various poses and activities.

"That's the first time you swam me!" DJ pointed to himself holding onto Steve as they cut through the ocean, then turned to smile brightly at his daddy.

"Sure is, buddy. Mommy took that when we were swimming the first time. And now you're doing great learning to swim."

"Daddy 'wim Angie," the toddler patted the picture of Steve and herself in the water.

On page after page, as DJ commented on the images of days and experiences he remembered, his smile grew. When they came to the last one, of Jacob with both kids on his first day back at school, Catherine said, "We'll put the one of my class visit in next."

Kissing his head, she added, "Do you know why this one's my favorite?"

Smiling softly, the little boy raised his shoulders, clearly hoping he knew the answer, and took his mommy's hand.

"Because it's our whole family, and both our amazing kids are it." She squeezed his fingers gently.

Squeezing back, DJ nodded and said with a note of the confidence that was building every day. "It's my favorite, too."

# _End. Thanks for reading!_

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